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Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been elected president of the federal Liberal Party, after being nominated for the job unopposed.
Mr Abbott, speaking at a meeting of the party’s federal council, told Liberal faithfuls he owed the party “big time”.
“And that’s why I regard it as my duty to serve the party in this time of existential crisis,” the former Warringah MP told supporters on Friday.
“I have to say that as the last successful federal leader of the opposition, I do believe that I have the ability to help (current Opposition Leader) Angus Taylor to be the next successful federal leader of the opposition, and to become our 32nd prime minister.
“I thank you, Angus, for this opportunity to serve, because believe me, while Australia remains the best country on earth, we are drifting backwards.
“Our economy is stagnating, our society is fragmenting, our security is in peril, and underneath it all there is a kind of spiritual malaise.”
Mr Abbott said the challenge for the modern Liberal Party was to convince a “sceptical public” the conservative party was a credible alternative government.
”And to persuade people what I absolutely believe in the marrow of my being, that we remain the best hope of better government in this country,” he said.
“The better government that we so desperately need right now.”
Earlier this week, Mr Abbott’s former rival Malcolm Turnbull described him as “clearly a masochist” in reaction to rumours of his nomination.
“But anyway, he’s got a strong commitment to politics, so good on him,” Mr Turnbull told the ABC.
But Mr Abbott’s ascension to the top job has sparked fears the embattled Liberals could be dragged even further to the right under his stewardship.
“They’re basically arguing that the Liberal Party’s mistake has been not being right-wing enough,” Mr Turnbull said.
“They’ve been saying this, despite every election sending them the message that a significant part of the electorate feel they have gone too far to the right.”
Mr Turnbull was famously ousted as Opposition Leader by Mr Abbott in 2009, before toppling Mr Abbott six years later in during a leadership spill.
Independent MP Zali Steggall, who ousted Mr Abbott from the seat of Warringah in the 2019 election, also warned his appointment would proved the Liberals had “learned nothing from the last three elections”.
“It’s clear that the Australian public, the sensible public, wants rational policies,” she told the ABC this week.
“They don’t want culture wars. They don’t want blame game. They want something constructive.”
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